Method and apparatus for dressing poultry



Jan. 1,' 1935. P. M. GRIFFIN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRESSING POULTRY Filed Ju 1y14, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN'IY'OR Percy M fir/ff/n ATTORNEY Jan. 1, 1935. P. M. GRIFFIN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRESSING POULTRY Filed July 14, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 w W n m m a N. WM .m N I J 2 r. r l u e w Pm 2 u u 0 EU 30 .u 3

Jan. 1, 1935. P. M. GRIFFIN 1,986,195

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRESSING POULTRY Filed July 14, 1950 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 lllL'lli lgggil/lllllllllflllllllllffi "/ll/l/ 77////////////// 4 N L w o n q a INVENTOR Percy M 6r/f/m BY 6. ,a. W

ATTORNEY Jan. 1, 1935. P. M. GRIFFIN 8 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRESSING POULTRY Filed July 14, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Y'III/II/III/ INVENTOR Percy M. 617/270 ATTORNEY Jan. 1, 1935. P. M. GRIFFIN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRESSING POULTRY Filed July 14, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 F ICE-.10

INVENTOR, Percy M. fir/ffm Y ATTORNEY Jan. 1; 1935. P. M. GRIFFIN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRESSING POULTRY Filed July 14, 1950 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Percy M Gr/ffin BY 6:

u INVENTOR mum n Illlll III Ii Q i 1 \QQ L? g i 3% Y g a g M MD m\ Cu M m 3 wE mg Jan. 1, 1935. P GRlFFlN 1,986,195

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRESSING POULTRY Filed July 14, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet '7 INVENTOR Percy M. r/fflh BY I 67%.

ATTORNEY A Jan. 1, 1935. I V M GRIFFIN I 1,986,195

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRESSING POULTRY Filed July 14, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 1.5 INVENTOR. d Percy I M. fir/ffm ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 1, 1935 UNITED sures METHOD AND APPARATUS FQR'DRESSING POULTRY.

Percy M. Griffin, AlbanmN. Y.,-as'signor. to The Draw-Trim. Corporation of America, Albany,

N. a corporation of New York Application .Iuly 14, 1930, SerialNo. 467,891

26 Claims.

For a detailed description ofthe present form of my invention, reference may be had to the following specification and to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein Fig. 1 shows a plan of the machine looking down on it-from above; X

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal view on the central line of Fig. 1 partly in section;

Fig. 3 is a plan, partly in section of the drawing blade and its hand and the operating mechanism therefor;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section of said operating mechanism;

Figs. 5, 6 and '7 are detail sectional views of the rotary knives and puncturing bodkin with their operating mechanism;

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the rotary knives;

Figs. 9 and 10 show the main operating lever and its control;

Fig. 11 is a side elevation partly in' section of the blade and its operating mechanism; j

Figs. 12 and 13 are elevations of the neck-gripp s jaws; r

Fig. 14 is a detail of the stop mechanism in Fig. 1;

Figs. 15-19 show the outline of a bird in position and the successive operations thereon;

Figs. -21-show the leg cut-01f device on an enlarged scale;

Fig. -22 is a fragmentary view of operating levers, shown in Figs. 20-21I My invention relates to a method and an ap-- dominal cavity, I withdraw therethr'ou'gh the en-' tire contents of the cavity in a compact-mass. Unless thus out free before removal, the saidcontents cling to the bony structure of the bird at points and become broken up by an attempted' withdrawal, only certain parts coming out while other parts, still adhering to the backbone, remain behind. My' apparatus is organized to perform the aforesaid method automatically. The principal feature is a broad, flat, pointed 7 blade, which, when the bird is firmly secured in position, with its back down on its seat, enters the bird horizontally at a point below the vent and follows along inside the backbone and below the mass of viscera, which now lie above the backbone, thereby cutting the overlying viscera entirely free. This action of the blade is accom panied by the action of two shorter knives which cut the skin, near the entering point of saidflat blade, at approximately right angles to the route of the blade, and, together with the cut made by 6 the blade itself, form an opening in the 'bird through which the viscera'are'drawn out, on the reverse stroke of the blade. The drawing out "is by means of a so-called. hand fi near' the tip'of the aforesaid flat blade, which hand is automati- 1O cally turned up at right angles to the blade as the blade starts its reverse stroke. Thereby the viscera, which the blade; on its inward stroke, has

cut free from the backbone, are, on its outward stroke, drawn out in a compactmass; Auxiliary 15 features of the machine are gripping jaws for the neck and legs of the bird and other retaining devices, together with 'localknives whichcut off the said legs and neck while gripped by the jaws. While my aforesaid method maybe performed manually, the machine acts with greaterspeed and accuracy. Moreover, as thebird isoften in a frozencondition when drawn, the manual op eration is thereby made (more difficult while the machine operation remains unaffected.

The fundamental operationslof my apparatus are outlined in Figs. 15-19;' In Fig. 1'5"the parts are in their normalrelation. At the right the fowl is shownin position lying on its back on the seat-plated that has, on its left-hand edge,.a projecting panfthebottom of which is inclined downwardly to receive the main blade e The neck is droppedfldown' ready to be cut by. the neck-knife (Z and the legs are eachheld in a hook c1 readyto. be cut at thejoint by a leg-' knife. At the left is an underlying frame el that slides right and left on the foundation frame." On top of e andslidable thereon is a secondary. framege i. The underlying'frame'e carries vthe main flat blade a l, also, above the blade/a flat bar a equal in width to .theblade and carrying a pivoted hand e at its outer end which now lies down'flat. The overlyingframe e carriesa bodkin e and two knives e and c (of which only e appears in this Fig. 15) which move in arcuat'e paths and serve to cut a hole in the fowl Y I I In Fig. 16 both e and e are moving forward toward-the fowl, but 6 moves faster'tobring the knives into their cutting position. In'Fig; 17 the main blade has entered the fowl above the back bone and under the viscera, cutting the latter free from the frame. The knives e and e have also entered and are ready to make arcshaped cuts around the skin-holding bodk'ine which cuts, together. with the cut previously made by the fiat blade, form a triangular hole in the fowl. The frame e is arrested at this point by the stop e hitting the seat'd but the frame e continues a short distance and thereby actuates the aforesaid knives e' and 6 The handv 6 as. appears in Fig. 18, is also thrown up when the front stop 6 has hit the bed of the machine and' therebyha's started the reverse movement. In that reverse movement the nowupturned hand e? draws out ahead of 'it", through the hole made by" knives e and e the mass of entrails, as appears in Fig. 19. These are dropped down through alhole in thetop plate and when the recession is completed, as shown in Fig. 15, the rear "stop-pine arrests'the operation with the parts related as in Fig. 15

ready for the next operation after another bir has been placed on the seat. I s Referring to Fig. 1, A represents a plate formingthe topof a hollowmetal frame in which the main mechanism is contained, together with such holding and cutting implements as are mounted on the upperside of said plate. In the center of plate A is an oblong opening A through which the material drawn from the interior of the bird is dropped intothe tray below. The edges of this'central opening are depending and overhang a movable tray-underneath, which receives whatever may drop through the opening.

Inthe upper part'of Fig. 1 appears the elec-. tric driving motor B and, .at the left of it, the main-lever mechanism, marked, as a whole, C. The bird-receiving part, marked as awhole,'D, containsfa plate .d 'which may be called a .seat and is. of a flat, curved-form having a central V-shaped depression in a projecting pan on its left-hand side fora functional purpose, to b hereinafter described.

' The seat (1 ismounted to slide forward on the the right of Fig.2 to cushion the blow of the seat when released. The birds neck is pushed .down between two spring jaws d (1 at the right of seat d allowingthe head to drop still further down into the semi-circular opening d in the frame. (see Figs. 15-19) The said spring jaws d d "are shown in detail in Figs. 12 and 13. They have somewhat the appearance of a pair of fiatirons set on end side by side. Along their inner upright edges are thin ribsor flanges d which are angular, as appears at the right in Fig. 2, and grip the vertebrae in theneck of the bird and'form a stop against any longitudinal movement of the bird by push or pull, partic ularly thelatter. Thenon-angular ribs 01 are slightly. tapered inward from the top to hold the bird. down and also serve to locate or centralize the bird by impingement of its shoulder blades against the d ribs. In the outer upright edges of thej'aWs are vertical slots which receive the fiatvertical'stationary support-bars d al containing short horizontal slots d d for the guiding screws 12 fixed in the respective jaws. Spring plungers (Z r1 pressthe two jaws toward each other, reacting against the fixed supports Thereby the two jaws may be spread apart slightly to allow the birds neck to be pressed down between them, as indicated by the dotted lines (Z The neck will then be firmly held forthe action of the neck cut-off knives. One of'these knives is shown at the right d of Fig. lat d (see also Figs. 15-19). It slides horizontally below the top of frame-plate A in a transverse direction and has a V-notch in its leading end, as appears in Fig. 1. It is reciprocated by a bell-crank lever (1 (Fig. 1), a roller in the outer end of said lever engaging a slotted hole .01 5 in the rearend of the knife. It will be understood that an identical knife will be mounted on the opposite'side of the plate A in line with the one shown, the two, when thrust toward each other, embracing the birds neck in their V-notches andsevering it, allowing the birds head to drop down through opening d into the box. Each bell-crank lever c1 has a slotted connection with a concentric lever 11 carrying two rollers (Z and (1 as appears in Fig. 1. Roller (Z is engaged by the end of a pusher-bar c (on the blade-operating mechanism, to be hereinafter described) and thereby the bell-crank lever 11 is caused to give knife (2 its'inward cutting stroke. When pusher e is retracted, its hookedend (see Fig. 3) engages the other roller 11 thereby giving lever (Z and knife (Z their reverse strokes. The knife (1 is held in its retracted position by spring d".

Each leg of the bird is drawn to one'side and its hock joint placed under a hook-shaped holder d best shown in Fig. 15,'also,in Figs. 2, 20 and 21. In the under side of the bend of the legholder (see Figs. 2, 20 and 21) is a fixed knife 41 which co-operates with a vertically sliding knife (1 just beneath it. The knife (2 slides in a vertical guideway grooved in the casting that forms the hook-formed leg holder (Z and is operated bythe aforesaid pusher e in like manner as, but in advance of, the neck-knife d above described. That is to say, the lower end of knife 12 as viewed'in Figs; 2 and21, is pivotally linked to one end of a bell-crank lever (Z which has a slotted'connection with a concentric lever d that carries two rollers (Wand (1 (corresponding to rollers-0Z1 and (Z mentioned above). The end of the aforesaid pusher e on its forward stroke engages roller d to give knife d its upward thrust against the fixed knife (1 and, on its rearward stroke, the hook end of e engages the other roller (1 to retract knife d andbell-crank lever (1 The pusher e on its forward stroke, first operates the leg-knife d, as just described, and next operates, as aforesaid, the neck-knife 01 On its rearward stroke it retracts neck-knife d first and-thereafter retracts leg-knife d It should be added that the leg-knife d has a fin d on one of its vertical sides, the upper end of that fin being beveled, also that the bell-crank lever 01 is normally pressed upward by a spring 0:2 The purp ose of'said fin and spring is to permit a slight downward movement of knife (1 against spring 01 independently of its aforesaid operation up and down by the rollers d and 12 Thereby the operator, in placing the bird on the machine, will'pressthe leg joint down on the upperbeveled endof the fin d thus forcing knife d downward-and allowing the leg to enter under the down-turned end of hook 1 and come to rest with the leg-joint resting between the edges of upper knife d and lower knife (1 ready to be out exactly at the joint when knife d is forced up, as aforesaid by pusher engaging roller (1 Fin (1 also enables the operator to locate the joint in the correct position.

In positioning the bird it, will be laid, back down, against the rear side of seat d its tail d being pushedzunder the right-hand edge of the seat at the center thereof, .as shown in 15,

Its neck will be thrust down between the aforesaid jaws 01 its wings lying on the top surface'of the frame as they may come without restraint.

Where its back rests on the seat-there is a slight depression with a rise d on either side serving as stops to hold the bird against sidewise displace,- ment. It is importantthat the bird should not slip sidewise under the subsequent operation. The shoulder blades will, as heretofore stated, abut against stationary jaws d whatevermay be the birds length, but the seat 03 may slide back against the pull of springs 01 as described, according to the length of any individual bird. As will'be described later, the piercing and cut-. ting operations which follow will automatically adjust themselves to the position of the seat d By this means the same machine may be used for a wide range of differently sized birds.

We will now turn to the next department of the machine which may be termed the drawing unit, including the main blade and its associated parts. At the-left-hand end of Figs. 1 and 2 (see also Figs. 3, 4 and 11) is shown a substantial sliding frame marked e having projecting forwardly from its two sides the aforesaid pushers e The frame e itself is arranged to slide longitudinally on the underlying framework along two guide bars 6 a, one on each side of the machine, these guide bars having adjustable stops e e to fix the range of frame-slide on the bars. The frame a is vibrated-as aforesaid on its guide-bars e by a link e which, at its rear end, is jointed to the outer end of the main operating lever c to be hereinafter described. Thereis also secured to frame e and vibrated therewith a bar e which is best seen in Fig. 3 and which carries, pivoted thereto, at its outer end, the so-called hand e Bar 6 is of the same width throughout its length, whereby as it enters the bird it will act to hold apart the pelvis bones whichhad previously been spread apart by the extended sides of hand e and maintain the opening in the birds body and keep them spread during its return stroke when the upturned hand e thereon is pushing out the viscera through said opening. The said hand e is pivoted to said bar e at e (Figs. 3 and 11) and, while, during the forward stroke, it is turned down flat in line with, but ahead of, bar e it is turned up vertically thereon during the rearward stroke by means of a rod a which extends back in a slot on top of the bar e and is then bent upward and jointed to a lever e v(see Fig. 11). Lever e at its opposite, lower end, carries a roller engaging a notch in a block e which is seated firmly in a slide-bar e that will be more fully described hereinafter. The said lever e is given a movement with respect to bar c and thereby tilts up the hand e preparatory to its rearward or reverse stroke. The hand e itself is shaped, as appears in Fig. 3, somewhat like an arrowhead but has a deep notch e at its forward end where the point of the arrowhead would normally be. The purpose of that notch is to enable the hand, as it is tilted up, to grip in the said notch e the windpipe and esophagus of the bird, and, so to speak, peel it out of the birds neck on its rearward stroke, the birds head having been already cut off. The hand at its base is slightly wider than the hand-operating bar (2 On the under side of the hand-operating bar and separable therefrom, is the main, flat, horizontal cutting-blade a which is pointed at its forward end, as appears in Fig. 3, the two P side edges of the point being beveled on the under side'baclts'to the dottedline e v in Fig. 3 for a said main blade e is pressed upward by spring e and supported by stud e. which is screwed into bar a It also has on its upper side a pinre' which enters a socket on the under side of handpurpose to be described hereinafter. The aforebar e to locatethe blade. Thus, by pressing down 'onthe blade at itsouter end, it may be separated from the bar e sufficiently to permit a cleaning cloth to be passed along its upper surface and the under surface of the bar e At the base of the hand-carrying bar 6 where it begins to extend forward. of the sliding'frame s and on either side thereof, are shown in Figs.

1 and 5 two short parallel knives e and e for the action of. which we may turn to Figs. '5, 6, l and 8. These knives are carried, not by e but by overlying frame (2 and project forwardly from the respective ends of two bentand overlapping radial arms e and e. These radial arms are .so bent to avoid a bodkin e and are each secured to the outer end of a short shaft e journalled in the said hollow framee Each shaft e carries a small pinion meshing with a gear wheel (2. Fixed on eachgear wheel 2 is a at a time determined by the position to which the seat (2 has been moved forward toac'commodate the length of the particular bird that is'being dressed. The aforesaid short frame e ,'which carries the said step pins 2 will then be arrested while frame e which carries shaft e will still move forward. The 'diagonal slots in that frame e will therefore act as cams on the rollers e giving a short rotation to the gear wheels e which have not been arrested but are still moving ahead with frame e 5, and, because said gear wheels are larger than the pinions on shaft 6 they will give a greater rotation to the said shafts e The knives eland e projecting forward from their respective radial arms e ands on shafts e are at this time inside the bird, while the radial arms themselves are outside the bird. Knife 6 will act first and make an arc-shaped cut in the skin of the bird along the dotted line 270 of Fig. 8, and the knife e will then act and make a similar out along the dotted line 28!) of Fig. 8, the arc of eachcut being centered at one of the shafts 6 At this time the bodkin 6 also mounted on and moving forward with frame e has also pierced through the skin of the bird at a point inside of the arc-shaped cuts, and so serves to hold'taut the piece of skin between the said cuts to permit the second cut, by knife a to be'made.Otherwise the piece of skin would hang loose, after the first cut by knife e and could not be afterwards severed by-the next-acting knife 6 it being also remembered that a crosswise out, between the lower ends of the two arc-shaped cuts aforesaid, has been previously made by the entering 'end of main blade e I have heretofore mentioned the underlying sliding frame 6 carrying the pushers e Upon the sa d underlying frame slides the aforesaid overlying, minor frame e which carries,'as just described; the knives c' and e; The primary is locked at the time to the hand-carrying 31 main blade a and hand-operating bars e and c continues, independently of said secondary movement until the time comes to raise the hand to its vertical position preparatory to the reverse movement in which the uplifted hand sweeps before it the viscera which the main blade has cut loose on its forward stroke, and delivers them outside of the bird through the hole cut by the knives e and a This preliminary movement of frame e is produced by the main reciprocating lever c (Fig. 1) through the aforesaid link e The link 6 is, as aforesaid, jointed at its rear end to saidreciprocating lever 0 but at its forward end it is jointed, not to frame e directly, but to a lock slide-bar e (see Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 11) to which frame e is locked at certain times and when so locked moves with the lock slide-bar e and lever 0: This locking is best shown in Figs. 3 and 4. In frame e are two horizontal lock pins e and e which, when moved inward by cam blocks 6 and 2 acting under the force of spring e engage, at their inner ends, sockets on the side edge of said lock slide-bar e Pin e is permitted to drop out of its socket in look slide-bar 6 when the cam block e is knocked out of line with e by plunger e when that plunger strikes the fixed frame at the end of its forward stroke. Until that occurs the lock slidebar c (driven, as explained above,- by link e and lever 0 drives frame (2 forward. The pin e is at that time out of line with its socketin lock slide-bar e and so is disengaged therefrom. When pin e is released at the end of its forward stroke by plunger 6 the lock slide-bar 6 moves on forward with respect to frame e and brings the socket for the other pin 6 into line with that pin, which thereupon enters its socket and continues to again lock the frame 6 and slide-bar 6 together during the return stroke until pin e is, in turn, released at the end of the return stroke by rear plunger 6 which knocks out cam-block 6 and permits, pin 2 to again act as the lock between e and e In the interval between the disengagement of pin 6 with the slide-bar e and the engagement therewith of pin e the lock slide-bar e moves forward slightly and the block :2 seated therein (see Fig. 11) operates the aforesaid lever c to raise the hand e to its vertical position, as shown in Figs. 18 and 19. The subsequent locking of e to e by pin e holds the hand in its upraised position during the reverse stroke at the end of which the locking is shifted to pin e and hand 6 lowered.

On the upper side of frame e and above lever c is pivoted at c a shorter lever 0 for operating frame 42, the longer end of which lever is normally pressed (toward the left in Fig.3) by its concentric coiled spring 04, and, as shown in the upper left-hand corner of Fig. 2,'is jointed at its outer end, by. a pin 0 to said minor frame e The primary movement aforesaid of frame e by virtue of lever 0 link e and sliding lockplate a to which 6 is locked by pin e or pin e* carries, toward the bird, the pusher e the hand-carrying bar e and blade a also the said shorter lever c which is pivoted on 6 But, when the tail end of c strikes a fixed stop 0 (Fig. 1), its. lower end (pivoted to 2 shoots ahead towardthe right faster than the frame 6 That drives minor frame e and the knives e" and e thereon ahead of frame e until the knife tips are positioned (as in Fig. 1'7) close to the widened parts of the hand e which project movement between frames e and e causes the rotation, one after the other, of the knives e e as described above, and those knives thereby make their arc-shaped cuts 270 and 280. The aforesaid movement of minor frame 6 faster than frame 6 is to bring said knives into their operating position, but the faster movement then ceases and frame e is automatically locked to frame 6 and assumes the same speed. That occurs by virtue of two pin-blocks e, e (shown in Figs. 5 and 6) which are lever-mounted on frame e and spring-pressed downward. When frame e reaches the operating position for the rotary knives which it carries, the pins on the under side of said blocks e drop into holes e (see Fig. 3) on the aforesaid hand-operating bar e That locks frame e to frame e and holds it fast while knives e and stare being worked, as just described. But when the short cam-frame e which operates the knives completes its knifeoperating stroke, two wedges thereon e (see Figs. 5 and 6) engage with and lift the pin-blocks e just mentioned. That frees frame e and the said lever c pivoted to e is thrown back by a spring 0 bringing frame e back to its normal starting position relative to main sliding frame e Asthus far described, we have the large lever c as the prime mover. Its outer end is linked, by link e to the lock slide-bar e which, as stated, is locked tothe underlying main slide frame e by pin e on'the forward stroke and by the pin (2 on the return stroke. The overlying minor frame 6 sliding on e is worked by the short lever c which, as heretofore stated, is fulcrumed on e and jointed at its outer end to e When, bythe movement of e that short lever c is brought where its tail or short end strikes the fixed stop 0 the speed of its longer end, and of frame e jointed thereto, is greatly increased, so that the knives e and a which it is the function of frame e to position, nearly overtake the point of main blade e and the hand 6 and these knives are caused to make their arc-shaped cuts when theshort cam-carrying frame e is arrested by abutment of its stops c against the seat 0 on which the bird lies. Then the hand 2 is raised to its vertical position by the shifting from locking-pin e to locking-pin e and the reverse operation follows to withdraw the viscera which have been cut loose by the main blade e on its forward stroke. It should also be stated that the bevel at the point of blade e defined by the line e is engaged by the inclined extension or pan on the front edge of seat 03 and thereby the blade is-slightly lifted from its normally depressed level and directed to the correct point of entry into the bird. That point of entry is beneath the vent and above the tail (Z Thereby the tough sphincter muscle, which surrounds the vent and terminates the digestive tract, is cut hand e grips the wind-pipe and esophagus to free them from the surrounding skin of the neck.

The crop of the bird, which has but a slight tendency to adhere, is pulled by the hand e together with the rest of'the entrails. By this means the bird is effectively and completely cleaned. out. It should be stated, moreover, that the hand-carrying bar e can, in an emergency, be freed from frame e by lifting manually a pin e shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

It only remains to describe the operation and control of the aforesaid prime mover, lever In brief, the driving electric motor B is assumed to be running. constantly and between it and the lever c a clutch is interposedwhich can be engaged manually to start, or disengaged manually to stop saidlever c and the machine which it moves. In addition, the clutch is disengaged automatically to stop the machineat the com pletion of its cycle of operations. Referring to Figs. 9 and 10, the aforesaid prime-mover, lever 0 is shown therein as formed with a long cen-. tral slot c in which travels a roller c on the end of a short crank-arm e which is keyed to the upper end of a short vertical shaft 0 Manifestly one complete rotation of shaft 0 crankarm 0 and roller 0 will give lever 0 one forward and one backward stroke, starting from its position in Fig. 10 and coming back to the same position. As appears more'clearly in Fig. 2, the said shaft 0 carries, near its lower end, a wormwheel 0 driven by a worm e on a horizontal shaft c which, in turn, oarries a worm wheel e driven by a worm 0 on the motor-shaft 0 Above said worm-wheel e on vertical shaft 0 9 is a clutch by which the motor-driven movement of worm-wheel 0 may be imparted to said vertical shaft 0 when the clutch is engaged, or shaft 0 left free of e when the clutch is disengaged. The clutch is of the usual tooth type and is operated as usual by a fork e The fork 0 as clearly appears in Fig. 9, is vibrated on its pivot e as a center by an angular piece rigidly secured to said pivotv When fork e is moved down it causes the clutch to engage and when lifted up it causes it todisengage. The fork c and lev'er 0 are actuated automatically by a spring e which, in the disengaging position of the clutch, pulls up on the fork e and piece 0 at the left side of the pivot c, to maintain a spring pressure tending to uphold the fork e in its clutch-disengaging position, or, ifthe fork c -is forced down manually to its clutch-engaging position, the said sr'iring'will pull up on the right-hand side of said fork-pivot 0 The fork may be thrown manually to thus bring said spring 0 to either side of its deadcenter line by means of an angle-lever c, the short right-hand leg of thislever vibrating between pins 0 and c on said lever 0 Its engagement with pin 0 brings the parts to the inactive portion shown in Fig. 9; its engagement pin 0 throws the spring over dead center and the fork is snapped down to engage the clutch andstart the machine. The angle-lever 0 is-operated bythe rod 0 on the outer end of 'whieh'is the hand-button 0 It alsocarries a stone for its rightward limit. The rod is jointed at its left end to the longer leg of angle-lever 0 9.

In the tip of this leg is 'a spring plunger 27 which.

is engaged by a projection 0 on the under side of the aforesaid crank-armcl asthat crank-' arm nearsthe end of its 360-degree run. Thereby the angle-lever 0 is automatically brought to its clutch-disengaging position shown in Fig. 9 at the end of each excursion of the machine.

WhatI claim as new and desire to-secure'by Letters Patent is: I

'1. A fowl-dressing machine comprising a seat for the fowl, a blade movable towards and from the fowl and also into the fowlapproximately its full length when the fowl is positioned on the seat, a non-cutting member following the blade, a hand on said member and means for shifting said hand to an upright angular position with respect to the said member. 1

2. In a fowl-dressing machine a blade arranged to penetrate the fowl, a knife following the blade to enlarge the opening made by the blade, means for removing the fowls viscera through said opening, and means for removing said knife from the fowl in advance of the removal of the viscera.

3. In a fowl-dressing machine a blade having a sharp cutting end and of a length to penetrate the approximate length of the fowl, a hand mounted near the end of the blade, and an operating rod for the hand of a length corresponding substantially to the penetrating length ofthe saidblade. I

4. A fowl-dressing machine comprising a seat for the fowl, retaining stops, a blade for penetrating the fowl longitudinally between the viscera and the backbone, a hand mounted above the blade and mechanism for lifting the hand at a point near the stopping point of the blade.

5. A fowl-dressing machine comprisinga seat for the fowl, retaining stops, a reciprocating blade for penetrating the fowl between the visceraand the backbone, a reciprocating hand-carrier following the cut made by said blade, at hole-cutter, a pelvis-spreader acting onthe return stroke" to maintain thespread of the pelvis bones, and operating mechanism for the several members aforesaid. H H p N 6. A fowl-dressing machine comprising an adjustable fowl receivingseat, a reciprocating frame carrying a blade and a hand-carrier, a. reverser for said frame controlled by the base of the ma' chine, a second reciprocating frame carrying a hole-cutter, a retracting spring for said second framefa releaser for said spring controlled by the adjustment of said seat, and means foradvancin'g the second frame fasterthan the first mentioned frame.

7. In a fowl dressing machine, a reciprocably mounted carrier, a fiat horizontally disposed viscera-removing blade projecting from the top of said carrier with one end free, and means for holding the other end of said 'bladein yieldable engagement with said carrier, so that the blade may be moved in opposition to the holding means "9. A fowl dressing machine comprising ,aifowl receiving seat. adjustable to the length of the fowl,. areciprocating bladeand a viscera-remover,

means ona fixed part of the machine for revers-' ing the movement of the blade and the viscera remover while travelling in one direction, a hole cutting knife movable toward and from "the fowl while supported by said seat, and means controlled by the adjustment of the I seat for revere ing the forward travel of said knife. r

10. The method of dressing a fowlcoin'prising severing the viscera from the backbone by making a cut from the outside of the fowl along the inside and parallel to said backbone, formingan opening of sufiicient size to permit the passage of the severed viscera, and finally withdrawing the viscera through said opening.

. 11-. Themethod of dressing a fowl comprising severing the viscera fromthe backbone by forming in the body and-body wall of the fowl ablade cut from the outside inwardly along the inside and parallel to said backbonethen enlarging said cut to form an opening ofsufiicient size to permit passage of the severed viscera, and finally withdrawing theviscera through said opening.

;12. The method of dressing afowl which consists in first makinga fiat cut therein from the outside at a point between the tail and the vent and continuing that cut into the body of the fowl between the viscera; and the backbone so as to free said viscera from the backbone, then enlarging said opening to a sufiicient size to permitpassage of the severed viscera therethrough, and finally withdrawing the viscera through the enlarged opening. l A I Y I 13. In a fowl dressing machine, a seat for; the fowl, a hole cutting mechanism, a carrier therefor, means-for 'I'novin'g said carriertoward and from the fowl, means operated bymovement of the carrier constructed and-arranged to actuate said hole cutting mechanism while engaged with the fowl, and means forholding the skin during the hole cutting operation. V I 7 114. In a fowl dressing machine, a blade arranged to enter the fowl at a point between'the tail and vent, relatively movable rotatable hole cutting knives iacting throu g h th kin on the opposite sides of the vent and means for operating the hole cutting knives in opposite directions while the blade is withinthe fowl. I

15. In a fowl dressing machine, a seat for the fowLan ap'proximately flat reciprocably mounted member having -articulatedmeans at its end'constructed and arranged to withdraw the viscera from the fowl, and means for advancing and retractingsaid member into and out of the fowl, said member being of approirimately uniform width. throughout itslngth, said width being such that the width of the opening "in which it operates ismaintained. e 16., In "a 'fowldressing machine, a blade-like v'isc in moving mem er arranged to enter the fowlafidto penetrate it longitudinally, a hole cuttingv knife mounted to reciprocate "to and from the fowl, anaaiso in cvablewith respect to said blade-like member, means, connected. with said blade-like member and said knife'forsimultaneously moving them toward the fowl, and means for arresting theforward'movement of the hole cutting knifeduring .the forwafdlmovement of said blade member. p 17. In a fowl dressing machine, a legholder, a slidably mountedlegcutting knife, a leg gripper connected to and movable'with said knife, means constructed and arranged. to normally maintain said knife in yieldable engagement with said holder, and means for reciprocating said knife. 18. In 'a poultrydressing machine, a seat-for the fowl, drawing mechanismpr'ovided with reciprocableparts, means for actuating thedr'awingmechanism, and laterally yieldablefneck-engaging members located adjacent to said seat and provided ,wi'th shoulder-engaging stops, said members being constructed and arranged to resist push upon the fowl by impactof said drawing mechanism and to resist any pull applied to the fowl during withdrawal of said drawing mechamsm.

19. In a fowl dressing machine, a slidably mounted carrier, a flat blade having a penetrating edge at its forward end, said blade occupying a planetransversely across the fowl and being of such width as to maintain separation of thepelvis bones of the fowl, means' for reciprocating said carrier, and means independentof 'the blade for removing the entrails, said, entrail removing means being constructed and arranged to have movement correlated withthe movement of said blade.

20. In a fowl dressing machine, a's'eat for the fowl, and a stop comprising two independently mounted laterally movable members each provided with relatively spaced neck-engaging and shoulder-engaging portions, said seat having a portion slidably and yieldably supported with respect to said stop,--so as to accommodate itself to fowlsiof different sizes.

2-1. Infafowl dressing machine, a seat for the fowl, and a, stop comprising two independently mounted laterally movable members each having an angular neck-engaging flange and shoulderengaging means, said seat having a portion slidably and yieldablysupported wit-hrespect to "said stop, so as to accommodate itself to fowls of different sizes;-

p22. Ina fowl dressing machine, aseat for. the fowl, and 'a stop: comprising two independently mounted laterally movable members each providedwith a tapering shoulder-engaging rib and a neck-engaging portion, said seat-having a portion slidably and yieldably supported with respect to said stop, so as to accommodate itself to fowls of different sizes.

23. In a fowl dressing machine, aseat for the fowl, a-pair-of-hole cutting knives movable toward and from said seat,'reciprocatingmechanism for entering said knives :into and withdrawing them from the body of the fowl and mechanism for impartingarcuate movements to said knives in op-- posite directions while'engaged with said body.

24.. In *a fowldressing machine, a seat for the fowl, leg holders, slidably mounted leg cutters, each cutter carrying means cooperating with the holders to grip the legs, independent means yieldably maintaining the respective 'cutters in engagement with saidhold-er, and'means for simultaneously imparting positive movement to said cutters. V

25. In a fowl dressing machine, a seat for the fowl, gripping leg holderslocatedlaterally with respect to said seat, said holders having guide means, leg cutters reciprocatively engaging said guide means, and means for imparting positive reciprocatory movements 'tolthe cutters in both directions. I

26. In a -fowl dressing machine, a seat for the fowl, legholders disposed laterally with respect to said seat, each leg holder having guide means and a cutter fixed with respect to'said guide means,

- reciprocable cutters movably'en gaging said guide means and cooperating with the fixed cutters, means for simultaneously and positively imparting movement to said cutters in both directions, and means providing independent lost motion connections between the respective movable cutters and the said reciprocating means. t h

PERCY M. GRIFFIN. I 

